Table 2 Frequency of reported challenge groupings by epidemiology emergency response survey participants (n = 166), 2019–2020

1.Communication (n = 7 challenges)

76 (46%)

3.9

0.74

‘Nobody told me what had already been done’

0.68

‘The team leader did not know how to use me/my skills’

0.65

‘I did not understand my role’

0.70

‘The priorities of the response were not communicated to me’

0.69

‘Nobody told me what to do’

0.68

‘There were too many other epidemiologists’

0.50

‘My deployment period was too short to be effective’

0.48

2.Culture and relationships (n = 4 challenges)

19 (11%)

2.1

0.66

‘There was nobody I could ask cultural questions to’

0.84

‘I felt it was difficult to develop relationships with international colleagues’

0.69

‘I did not understand the culture’

0.84

‘I felt it was difficult to develop relationships with local colleagues’

0.70

3.Technical skills (n = 3 challenges)

24 (14%)

1.6

0.67

‘I did not have the right technical skills needed in the field’

0.81

‘I found it difficult to apply my skills to the required work’

0.78

‘I did not have the right software skills’

0.74

4.Political dynamics and security

(n = 3 challenges)

88 (53%)

1.4

0.52

‘Political dynamics were challenging to understand and work within’

0.71

‘Security issues affected my capacity to work’

0.71

‘Collaborating with other partners outside my agency was difficult’

0.72

5. Language

(n = 1 challenge)

20 (12%)

–

–

‘My language skills were insufficient to need’

–